Fruit and Water Policy in School Pilot Project

Organization: Great Southern Public Health Service

Funding: $17,370 (Funded: partial project coordination, operational and research and
evaluation costs, teachers’ kits, advertising, drink bottles and promotions)
Program Period: 15 months
Target Group: Primary school students in the Great Southern region, parents, teachers and
school nurses
Year: 2000 - 2001
Number of Participants: 300 students plus parents and teachers

Earlier surveys found that fruit and vegetable consumption was particularly poor in
the Great Southern region and community consultation supported the need to encourage good
childhood eating habits, particularly in the Aboriginal community. Dehydration was also
identified as an issue among school children, affecting concentration in the classroom.
This pilot project was run over two school terms and aimed to encourage teachers to
implement classroom policies to increase the consumption of fruit and water among primary
school children from six selected schools in the Great Southern region. Students were
encouraged
to consume a small bottle of water in the classroom throughout the day and a small piece
of fruit (or vegetable) during the afternoon. The program included classroom lessons and
complemented the Great Southern region’s “Fruit ‘n’ Veg” campaign.
Schools were consulted to register an interest in the project, identify possible
barriers to participation and incorporate teachers’ ideas into the development of the
project. A resource kit aligned with the curriculum framework was provided to teachers and
this included background information, student resources, certificates and fruit and water
sticker charts. Teachers were also offered professional development and support in
implementing the project.
Project activities included: (1) developing and distributing sample fruit and water
policies, and providing schools with assistance in policy implementation; (2) encouraging
structured 5 minute sessions within lessons to allow students to consume their fruit; (3)
encouraging students to drink a 500ml bottle of water each day; (4) encouraging classes to
record their consumption on a sticker chart and rewarding students with participation
certificates; (5) reminding students daily to either purchase or bring fruit from home.
Additional strategies were implemented where needed, including securing fruit
through community organizations, contacting parents if children frequently forgot their
water and liaising with District Aboriginal Education Councils to support children to
access fruit. The project encouraged parental involvement through regular communication
including letters and school newsletter articles. Parents and school nurses were offered
training in conducting Supercent$ supermarket tours. All teachers in the region were
invited to the project launch, including sample policy kits and a free breakfast. The
launch attracted good media interest, and the project was promoted to the community
through newspaper and newsletter articles. All schools in the Great Southern region
received a copy of the final report.
Eleven classes from 6 schools participated in the activities during the first term,
and 9 classes from 5 schools participated in the second term. The majority of students
consumed fruit on most afternoons and drank a bottle of water on most days. All the
teachers who answered the survey said they planned to continue the water policy, and 82%
planned to continue the fruit policy. Feedback from teachers suggested that the project
had improved students’ concentration levels. The media publicity resulted in requests for
the policy booklet throughout the area.
This project is an excellent example of an initiative which has continued beyond the
end of Healthway funding. It has since been adapted to form the “Crunch & Sip” project in
WA schools.
The project was developed through a strong partnership between the Great Southern
Public Health nutrition team and Education Department of WA. The application was well
researched with relevant local data, included measurable objectives and was based on
consultations with schools, primary health services and the Education Department.
Potential barriers to program implementation in Noongar schools were identified via
consultations with the District Aboriginal Education Councils, Aboriginal Health Workers,
school health nurses and members of the Aboriginal community. The project strategies were
adapted from resources produced through health promotion campaigns including “Fruit ‘n’
Veg”, “Kids in the Kitchen” “Supercent$” and “Foodcent$”. Teachers helped to develop the
teachers’ kit.
The project strategies were aligned to the Ottawa Charter for health promotion. The
Fruit and Water Policy was implemented through structured classroom activities to educate
children about the importance of fruit, vegetables and water consumption. Involving
parents in the project ensured support for the program in the home environment and
children were more likely to take their fruit and water to school. In some cases, school
canteens provided fruit for those children who were unable to bring their own. The project
was promoted through school newsletters and articles in local and state newspapers. A
short video about the project was made available on loan to schools.
The process evaluation included:(1) student sticker chart to record daily
consumption,
and teachers’ record sheets;(2) collecting information on teachers’ intentions to
implement the policy and perceived usefulness of the policy;(3) telephone survey of
principals’ awareness of the implementation of the project and policies. Pre and post-
project surveys of parents assessed changes in food and drinks taken to school, as well as
children’s fruit and vegetable consumption at home. Telephone surveys of teachers assessed
the use and suitability of the resources and their commitment to continuing the classroom
fruit and water activities. The project results were disseminated through reports,
statewide meetings and media coverage.
The project continued beyond the end of the Healthway funding by incorporating it
into the work of the Great Southern Public Health Unit Nutrition Plan. The nutrition
coordinator continued to promote, monitor and review the project statewide, and schools
continued to implement fruit and water policies. The project was adapted by the Department
of Health to form the statewide “Crunch and Sip” campaign in WA schools. The project was
well documented, increasing its transferability.
Some of the strategies targeting school nurses, such as supermarket tours, were
ineffective. Feedback from nurses indicated that these strategies would have been better
directed at teachers. Feedback from teachers identified other potential policy activities,
such as coinciding the fruit break with silent reading time and using a small annual
parent levy to purchase fruit for students. Gaining teacher support was essential for the
effective implementation of strategies. Some teachers implemented their own classroom
rules for the Fruit and Water Policy, such as providing guidance on the size of water
bottles and requesting that children bring chopped rather than whole fruit from home.

(Successful Healthway Projects)

Group activity
Guide for the group analysis paper.
(1) Discuss what the program is about.
(2) Create a conceptual model based on the program.
(3) Discuss the strategies used.
(4) Discuss effective health promotion elements used in the program.
a. Planning
b. Implementation
c. Evaluation
d. Sustainability
(5) Discuss what the program achieved.
(6) Discuss the lessons that were or can be learned from the program.
(7) Discuss how you can apply the strategies and lessons to your current program
and activities in the school.